Artifacts - Grant Keddie

Bird Leg Rings on the Northwest Coast?

January 30, 2011 By Grant Keddie There are a variety of small artifacts found on the Northwest Coast that are often assumed to be forms of body adornment. Some of these likely had other functions. Three examples described here might normally be assumed to be pendants, I think we should consider the possibility that these may have been used as bird leg rings for holding live decoy birds or pets. A common type of artifact in Polynesia is the kaka poria or bird leg ring made of stone or whale, bird and human bone. They were used to hold tame kaka birds (Nestor meridionalis) as a decoy for capturing wild birds in the forest (Phillips 1955:145). The leg of the … Continue reading “Bird Leg Rings on the Northwest Coast?”

Fireweed Clothing. Evidence of Its Use by the Snuneymuxw First Nations of Vancouver Island.

Originally Published in The Midden, 46(3&4), 14-17. By Grant Keddie. 2016 Small fragments of woven material were found along with other items in a burial cave site on Gabriola Island in 1971. The Burial remains and associated artifacts were brought to the (then) Provincial Museum to protect the material that was being removed by unknown persons. Artifacts found in the cave included bracelets of copper and brass, shell pendants, a stone bead, a green glass wire wound Chinese made bead, a woven rattle head and bark matting, in addition to the small fragments of unidentified woven material. This assemblage of material suggested that the woven material likely dated to around the late 18th to early 19th century. In 2001, the … Continue reading “Fireweed Clothing. Evidence of Its Use by the Snuneymuxw First Nations of Vancouver Island.”

Bullroarers in the Indigenous Collections of the Royal B.C. Museum

By Grant Keddie. 2020. Introduction The bullroarer is an instrument used by many cultures around the world. It comes in many sizes and dates back at least 20,000 years in Europe. In some parts of my ancestral Scotland the bullroarer was known as a “Thunderspell” and in Aberdeen as a “Thunder-bolt”. It was used to protect people from being struck by lightning, but in one known case used by a farm boy to scare the cows home (Haddon 1898:222). It is classed as an aerophone musical devise as it is spun in the open air, as opposed to an instrument that is blown into. It involves the use of a piece of flat wood, bone or other material tied to … Continue reading “Bullroarers in the Indigenous Collections of the Royal B.C. Museum”

Dating Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials with Chinese Coins

Originally published in Datum. Newsletter of the heritage Conservation Branch. Ministry of Recreation and Conservation. 1978. 3:2:3-5. By Grant Keddie. 1978. Introduction Early Chinese coins have been used occasionally to date historic burials or associated historical assemblages as well as being used as proof of a pre-contact circum-Pacific movement of trade goods or of proof of actual visitations by early Chinese explorers. By utilizing the direct historic approach it becomes evident that we must exercise caution in using Chinese coins as chronological indicators. I first became aware of the need to examine the reliability of dating with Chinese coins when trying to date a historic burial intrusion at the archaeological site DhRx 6 on Newcastle Island near Nanaimo. B.C. A … Continue reading “Dating Archaeological and Ethnographic Materials with Chinese Coins”

Jubilee Hospital Excavations

March 9, 2007 By Grant Keddie TAKING IN THE GARBAGE ONE HUNDRED YEARS LATER EXCAVATING THE PROVINCIAL ROYAL JUBILEE HOSPITAL DUMP The Victoria Branch of the Archaeological Society of British Columbia was engaged from April to July 1991 in weekend excavations of hospital dump material associated with the early years of the Provincial Royal Jubilee Hospital. On sporadic occasions over the next two years evenings were spent cleaning, sorting and gluing the artifacts. The hospital opened in 1890 and dropped the Provincial part of its name in 1938. The Jubilee Hospital excavations project started when Dr. Stuart Kenning of the Victoria Medical Society and Norma Friedmann, the Facility Planner for the Greater Victoria Hospital Society came to the City of … Continue reading “Jubilee Hospital Excavations”

An Arrow from the Tsitsutl Glacier, British Columbia

Originally Published in Canadian Journal of Archaeology, 29(1), 113-123. By Grant Keddie and Erle Nelson. March 2005. Abstract An almost complete arrow found in British Columbia in the early 20th century has been re-discovered in the Royal BC Museum collections. Speculation as to its antiquity was tested by radiocarbon dating, which reveals that the artifact was likely made in the middle of the second millennium AD. The arrow was compared to recent finds of both arrows and darts from glaciers and ice patches. The failure of this specimen to clearly fit the criteria of either of these weapon technologies raises some new questions. Introduction In 1924, at an elevation over 2,100 meters above sea level, land surveyor John Davidson found … Continue reading “An Arrow from the Tsitsutl Glacier, British Columbia”

Atlatl Weights

By Grant Keddie. 2007. Introduction This document is a technical, descriptive summary of all atlatl weights currently in the collection of the Royal B.C. Museum and some from other collections. This information is provided here because of the rarity of these artifacts and the difficulty of finding comparative information on the topic. WHAT ARE ATLATL WEIGHTS? An atlatl is a weapon composed of a flexible light spear or dart and a shorter throwing board that acts as a lever to propel the dart through the air. The weighting can be incorporated into the design of the throwing board, or represented as a separate item that is attached to these throwing boards. The dart should be thought of as being more … Continue reading “Atlatl Weights”

Bone Food Strainer Prongs

By Grant Keddie. 2012. Introduction One type of artifact that bridges the gap between archaeology and ethnology in British Columbia are bone food strainer prongs. Archaeologists have often described these as worked rib artifacts without a suggestion as to what they might be. They are usually made of seal or deer ribs, but some are also of antler. A number of these artifacts share similar characteristics to the prongs of rare food strainers found in ethnology collections. The ethnographic examples given here are from further north than the archaeological examples shown. However, I suspect that bone food strainers were disused earlier in the historic period in the south and did not get documented by ethnologists or placed in Museum collections. Ethnographic Examples The Royal B.C. Museum ethnology … Continue reading “Bone Food Strainer Prongs”

The Chilcotin Archaeological and Ecological Survey Project

By Grant Keddie. 1978. Introduction: The Chilcotin Archaeological and Ecological Survey Project was initially proposed by Paul Sneed of the University of B.C. The project was to be part of a long term program utilizing the latest, as well as new experimental methods, in the regional approach to cultural ecology. As a result of a brief reconnaissance to the lower Chilcotin River area during the summer of 1970 by Mr. Sneed and the author, it was decided that this region – heavily utilized in prehistoric times, was in need of an information recovery project before it was engulfed by the energies of modern man. A major threat to the area involved the construction of the proposed Moran Dam, seventy river … Continue reading “The Chilcotin Archaeological and Ecological Survey Project”

Where is Urban Archaeology?

Originally Published in Discovery: Friends of the British Columbia Provincial Museum Quarterly Review, 15(3). By Grant Keddie. July 1987. Introduction “Diggers Uncover Bottle Bonanza” read the headline of a Victoria newspaper in October 1981. The article explained that “Excavators have struck it rich while digging at the lawn bowling club beside Crystal Gardens”. There were, in fact, many interesting bottles and ceramic items found by the work crew excavating the foundation for the new clubhouse. But were these really a surprising discovery as the newspaper article seems to suggest? The answer is, of course, no! It was a well-known fact that this area was once the shoreline of James Bay. The area was often referred to around the turn … Continue reading “Where is Urban Archaeology?”